Justice News

Broward County Resident Sentenced to More than 5 Years in Prison for Extensive Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud Scheme

A Broward County Resident was sentenced to 63 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $119,080.95 for his participation in an extensive identity theft tax refund fraud scheme.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Dezman Dunbar Zama, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title l8, United States Code, Sections 1343, 1344, 1349 and 1028A.

Co-defendant Brandi Mary Janice Stroman, 30, of Oakland Park, was sentenced on October 14, 2015 to 61 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $119,080.95. Stroman previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title l8, United States Code, Sections 1343, 1344, 1349, 1028A, 1341 and 1349.

Co-defendant Jerrod Dashon Bosket, 26, of Orlando, previously pled guilty to one count of unauthorized use of an access device and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, Sections 1029(a)(2) and 1028A. On September 23, 2015, he was sentenced to time served.

According to court documents, from March 2012 through August 2012, Stroman obtained the bank account information of Zama and Jerrod Bosket. Stroman then provided the bank account information to another individual who filed false tax returns using the personally identifiable information (PII) of patients of a medical services provider. The fraudulent refunds from these tax returns were deposited into one of the bank accounts controlled by Zama, Jerrod Bosket, or others. After the money was deposited into the account, Stroman contacted the co-defendants and directed them to withdraw the funds. During the course of the conspiracy, at least 27 false returns were filed requesting $105,313 in fraudulent refunds. Each one of the 27 false returns listed one of the defendant’s bank account numbers.

Court documents also state that a member of the conspiracy obtained the names, Social Security numbers, and bank account numbers of three other individuals. A member of the conspiracy transferred or attempted to transfer $62,000, $92,716, and $135,482.46, respectively, from these three individuals’ bank accounts into a bank account controlled by Stroman or Zama. Stroman and Zama then withdrew or attempted to withdraw the transferred funds. Four fraudulent tax refunds in the name of incarcerated individuals were also deposited into Stroman’s bank account.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Identity Theft Strike Force, with special commendation to IRS-CI and the FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia R. Wood.